Urban Emergency Survival Bag - The Urban Escape Gear

• Plain black backpack that doesn't look out of place at a desk, on transit, or by the door
• US Coast Guard-approved food rations with 5-year shelf life, no rehydration needed
• Fully stocked first aid kit plus complete hygiene and sanitation supplies
• Dynamo radio flashlight, no batteries needed, hand crank powered
• Emergency Preparedness Guidebook with 20+ pages of survival tips included
• Available in 2-person (15 lbs., one backpack) or 4-person (25 lbs., two backpacks), in the same low-profile black design
• Room for personal additions such as medications, documents, cash, phone charger

The Urban Escape Gear is for people whose emergency plan has to work without a car and without a garage. Apartment and condo residents, commuters, students, and anyone whose day regularly puts them several miles from home.

It suits the household that has thought about the ordinary version of a city emergency, the trains stopping or the power going out across a few blocks, and wants something that fits in a closet by the door rather than a basement.

At 15 pounds for two people, it's light enough to carry down several flights, which matters when the elevator is part of what went out.

2-Person Kit

Food & Water: 2- 3,600 kcal food rations and 12- 4.2 oz water pouches, both with a 5-year shelf life. Plus 1 folding 1L water container and 5 Chlor-Floc water purification pouches, which carry their own shorter shelf life printed on the pouch.

Weather Protection: 2 reflective sleeping bags, 2 emergency ponchos, 1 tube tent, 2 hand warmers

First Aid: 1 first aid kit

Hygiene & Sanitation: 2 toothbrushes, 1 toothpaste, 1 comb, 1 razor, 1 shaving cream, 4 shampoo, 1 soap bar, 2 feminine pads, 1 washcloth, 1 toilet paper roll

Light & Communication: 1 dynamo radio flashlight, 2 light sticks

Survival Gear: 1- 5-in-1 survival whistle, 1- 5mm x 50' rope, 1 duct tape, 1 work gloves, 1 multitool knife, 1 pack of playing cards, 1 GI can opener, 1 Emergency Preparedness Guidebook, 1 pencil

Organization: 1 discreet urban backpack, 1 weatherproof poly bag

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4-Person Kit

Food & Water: 4- 3,600 kcal food rations and 24- 4.2 oz water pouches, both with a 5-year shelf life. Plus 1 folding 1L water container, 5 Chlor-Floc water purification pouches, 1- 500ml Tritan water bottle and 1 instruction page.

Weather Protection: 4 reflective sleeping bags, 4 emergency ponchos, 2 tube tents, 4 hand warmers

First Aid: 1 first aid kit

Hygiene & Sanitation: 4 toothbrushes, 2 toothpastes, 1 comb, 1 razor, 1 shaving cream, 8 shampoo, 1 soap bar, 4 feminine pads, 1 washcloth, 1 toilet paper roll, 1 sewing kit

Light & Communication: 1 dynamo radio flashlight, 4 light sticks

Survival Gear: 1- 5-in-1 survival whistle, 1- 5mm x 50' rope, 1 duct tape, 1 work gloves, 1 multitool knife, 1 pack of playing cards, 1 GI can opener, 1 Emergency Preparedness Guidebook, 1 pencil

Organization: 2 discreet urban backpacks, 1 weatherproof poly bag

• Getting home on foot. Transit shutdowns, gridlock, or a commute that turns into a long walk.
• Extended outages in an apartment building, where the elevator and the water pressure go with the lights.
• Boil water notices and water main breaks, which cities see more often than full outages.
• Earthquakes, hurricanes and flooding in dense neighborhoods, where leaving on foot can be faster than driving.
• A night spent somewhere other than home, with sleeping bags, a tube tent and ponchos.
• The 4-person size suits a small family, or two households sharing one plan.

Make It Yours!

Consider adding:

• Medications. The American Red Cross recommends a seven-day supply.
• Copies of your ID and insurance in a waterproof bag.
• Cash in small bills.
• A phone charger and backup battery.
• Shoes you can walk a mile in, if the ones you wear to work aren't walkable.
• Glasses, contact lens supplies, and hearing aid batteries for anyone who uses them.

Tips:

• Keep it where you walk past it. By the front door, in a hall closet, or at your desk. A kit in a storage unit is a kit that doesn't exist.
• The plain black bag is the point. It doesn't look out of place at a desk or on transit, so you're more likely to have it with you instead of leaving it at home.
• Walk your route home once. If you commute, look at the way back on foot and note where you would stop. Ten minutes now beats guessing later.
• If you're in an apartment building, learn your evacuation routes and walk them once so there are no surprises.
• Pair it with a PocketShield for everyday carry.

More than 9 in 10 U.S. counties experienced a federally declared disaster between 2011 and 2023, according to Rebuild by Design's analysis of FEMA data.

How are emergencies different in a city?

City emergencies have a shape of their own. They often mean moving on foot through crowded streets, transit that has stopped running, and a building where the stairs are the only way down. Our guide to what apartment living changes covers elevators, water pressure and the questions to ask your building.

If you had to leave your apartment or your office right now with no warning, would what you're carrying get you through the next 72 hours? For many people the honest answer is no.

The Urban Escape Gear is built around that. Light enough to carry without thinking about it, small enough to keep where you'll actually walk past it, and complete enough to cover you and a partner until you're home.

The Urban Escape Gear is a 72-hour urban emergency kit and get-home bag for two or four people. It covers the first three days of an emergency, with three days of emergency food rations, about 1,200 calories per person per day, and supplies to help with water.

In this kit: About 25 oz of drinking water per person, 5 Chlor-Floc water purification pouches (each treats up to 1 liter; depending on water temperature, a liter can take two), and a folding 1-liter water container. The 4-person kit adds a 500 ml water bottle.

What you'll still need to add. Stored water at home is what backs up an urban emergency bag, for the days when you make it home and still can't count on the tap. Ready.gov, FEMA's preparedness campaign, recommends one gallon of water per person per day. That's 6 gallons for two people over three days, or 12 for four. Add that, along with medications, personal necessities, and anything else your household relies on.

About water supplies. Purification tablets and filters treat water you already have; they don't create it, and tablets don't remove chemical contamination. A storage container only helps if it's filled ahead of time. None of these eliminate the need to plan for a safe drinking-water supply.